The e-commerce trends in 2018 as seen by PayU

Georgeta Gheorghe 30/01/2018 | 15:49

The e-commerce market is growing constantly, and Romania recorded the biggest growth among European countries. According to PayU, the Romanian e-commerce market will be worth EUR 2.8 billion, and in 2018 it will exceed EUR 3 billion. 

“Today it is very easy to set up an online shop at affordable costs and to make efficient marketing campaigns to reach clients,” said Marius Costin, PayU Romania country manager said. „In order to maintain the growth trend of their business in 2018 too, Romanian sellers should take into account the global trends, to be ready for the legal changes and to adapt their offer for the clients that become increasingly critical,” Costin said.

Legal challenges 

In 2018, Romanian retailers must enforce the new legal changes imposed by the European union. In 2018, Romanian retailers must apply the new legal changes imposed by the European Union, such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which will enter force starting 25 May 2018. From then on, online entrepreneurs will have to receive  specific approval in order to use the personal data of their clients, while the latter can cancel the agreement at any time. The activities include keeping track of the processing of personal data, informing clients on the creation of profiles based on the data and communicating the purpose of processing the data.

Cross-border commerce 

Cross-border commerce continues to expand. A recent study shows that 55 percent of Romanians who purchase online have already bought products from foreign sites. The main reason for doing so are the offers they find there. Over 7 out of 10 Romanian online shoppers say they choose to buy from abroad due to better offers or in order to buy brands they don’t find locally, while 6 out of 10 say that affordable prices are a key factor.

“At the same time, Romanian online shops are attractive for foreign clients,” Costin said.

AI for everyone 

In 2017, the most recent innovations in technology such as AI, AR and VR have been used mainly by the main players on the e-commerce market, in particular in the FMCG field.

Mobile is king

In case an online shop does not have a mobile version, 2018 is the last moment to do this. The latest surveys show that approximately 70 percent of site visits are made via mobile, up by 20 percent, while desktop visits are losing ground.

Social media role

In 2017 social platforms have stopped having only a communication role and have discovered the potential of the e-commerce market, offering their users the possibility to buy things on their platforms. The path from browsing the offer to purchase should be as short as possible, and social media channels such as Instagram and Facebook are ideal instruments for this, the PayU survey shows.

Varied payment portfolio 

In 2017, 4 out of 10 urban internet users have shopped online at least once a month. Given that increasingly more people shop online, it is important that shops offer them varied possibilities to pay. According to the PayU report, clients should be able to pay via a one clic payment and payment in instalments.

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